Cougar Sighting Reported In Northwest Suburbs

STREAMWOOD, IL – Bob Fleisher of Streamwood is convinced he spotted a cougar walking just a couple feet beyond his backyard earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune reports. And others around his subdivision near Surrey Woods Park say they have also seen a large animal wandering the suburb. The IDNR received a report of the large animal climbing a tree in the subdivision at about sunset on July 29.

But DNR and forest preserve district officials are not convinced that cougars are roaming the northwest suburb.

Doug Dufford, the Illinois Department of Natural Resource's wildlife disease and invasive wildlife program manager, said his department received a of a "large animal with a dangling tail climbing a tree,"but the caller didn't give a specific location, according to the Chicago Tribune. Or, as Dufford said not "much to hang a hat on."

"We don’t want to discredit it, but we don’t want to give it more credibility than it deserves,” Dufford told the newspaper.

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Chris Anchor, a biologist with the Cook County Forest Preserve District, echoed that sentiment and added there has been a pattern of more reports cropping up once the first sighting of a cougar is reported, according to the article.

Police in Yorkville are also investigating reports of cougars in town. Yorkville police say officials are investigating possible cougar sightings in the area. Two sightings were reported earlier this month.

• Cougar Sightings Reported In Yorkville

While they could not confirm the Streamwood sighting, DNR officials did report that natural predators are becoming more prevalent in the area.

In a news release earlier this week, village of Streamwood officials provided the following DNR safety tips when one encounters a large, predatory animal, such as cougars and coyotes:

• Don’t Run. Keep eye contact with the animals at all times.
• Make Some Noise. Throw your arms up, yell, shout
• Don’t Feed It. They can find food on their own.
• Herd Small Children and Pets. If you are walking with a small child or pet, do not pick them up. Have your child walk and come close, or have your animal heel next to you. If you pick up your dog, a cougar or a coyote will assume that you are trying to protect your food, and may challenge you.

"These predatory animals do not want to engage humans," according to the news release. "Stand your ground, and be sure to contact the police or IDNR if you encounter these animals."

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, cougars, also known as mountain lions, haven't roamed Illinois since before 1870. Still, sightings of the big cat have been confirmed in recent years. Three sightings were confirmed between 2002 and 2008, and a male cougar was shot and killed on the north side of Chicago in 2008.

"More recently, photos taken by trail cameras in Jo Daviess County (September 2012) and in Morgan, Pike and Calhoun counties (October and November 2012) were confirmed by IDNR as showing a live cougar," according to the IDNR.

In November 2013, an IDNR officer shot and killed a cougar in rural Whiteside County.

In January of this year, a cougar sighting was reported in DuPage County's East Branch Forest Preserve in Glendale Heights. IDNR officials who arrived in the area to investigate were unable to confirm the sighting.

Additional sightings were reported several days later. One report was debunked as having been a coyote, but the the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County placed wildlife cameras along trials to try to capture cougar sightings on film.

Other large cats —namely bobcats — have also been spotted in Kane County in recent years.

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